ABOUT FNWACCB CERTIFICATION
What is certification?
Certification is a process by which an independent third-party assesses and acknowledges an individual's level of knowledge and skill relative to a set of pre-determined standards. This is typically accomplished by means of collecting and presenting information related to educational background, work/life experience, and specific skill sets.
Membership fees, ethics codes, and yearly reviews are also a common part of the certification process.
Why get certified?
Practitioners from a variety of disciplines and sectors provide substance abuse-related services. Certification is one way to ensure they have and maintain the necessary skills to continue to provide the best and most appropriate services to their clients.
It also gives substance abuse and allied professionals regular access to the latest developments in the field and targeted training opportunities. Demonstrates expertise and serves to promote professionalism towards the public and peers, and May lead to increased compensation and expanded career opportunities.
About FNWACCB certification
The First Nations Wellness/Addictions Counsellor Certification Board represents a major historical turning point in establishing the official recognition of the special qualifications needed to work as an Addictions/wellness practitioner in Aboriginal communities.
The corner stones of the First Nations Wellness/Addictions Counsellor Certification Board were laid by the Association of BC First Nations Treatment Programs to provide a process for certifying aboriginal wellness & addictions workers that incorporates indigenous peoples culture, traditions and healing philosophys and that meet or exceeds certification standards in Canada and internationally.
The FNWACCB certifies qualified Indigenous Certified Addictions Specialists.
An addictions Specialist may be certified for three levels of knowledge and competence. Indigenous Certified Addictions Specialist : ICAS I, ICAS II, and ICAS III. The basic difference between the three levels lies in the length of supervised training and/or work experience, and differences in the amount of Certified Addictions Specialists education acquired.
Our certification attests to the professional qualifications and competence of certified counsellors. Our standards for certification are compliant with 11 International Boards and 70 US Districts, including alcohol/drug groups and authorities in most Provinces, and the U.S., First Nations alcohol/drug programs as well as various foreign alcoholism commissions, branches of the military and the First Nations Health Services.
National and international recognition
Our Certification Board recognizes the credentials of other IC & RC Alcohol Drug Counsellors (http://internationalcredentialing.org)